04 April 2023
The BMA came into effect on the 1st of April 2023, as an autonomous schedule 3(A) public entity serving as the third law enforcement authority in South Africa. Through the process, the BMA managed the transfer of five key operational functions of immigration, health, agriculture, environmental and access control at the 72 ports of entry across the Country. These functions emanated from 4 Government Departments, namely; Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development (DALRRD), Department of Health (DOH) & Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment (DFFE).
The PSCBC through Resolution 01 of 2023 (Agreement on the Transfer & Integration of Staff into the BMA) established a BMA Task Team (BMATT) to oversee the phasing in of the BMA. The Resolution serves as an integration framework to guide the transition of staff from the applicable Departments to the BMA.
This transition process has been treated as a S197 business transfer. As part of the integration process, the affected staff members were consulted over the period December 2022 to January 2023 in their respective regions across the Country.
The BMATT had also agreed that the human resources units of the 4 Departments would further engage with staff through one-on-one sessions before the 15th of March 2023. In these engagements, the employees would have been issued with their transfer letters. However, delays in the staff verification process resulted in the late issuing of transfer and placement letters.
In a BMATT meeting held on the 3rd April 2023, it was noted that staff members from 3 Departments (DHA, DOH & DFFE) have been successfully transferred out of the PERSAL system.
DALRRD staff will follow by the end of April 2023. In the interim, DALRRD staff will continue to be paid by their department while they will function within and operationally report to the BMA.
The BMATT also noted that staff members transferred to the BMA have not been resigned out of their employment but rather have been transferred to the BMA with a guaranteed continuation of service. Where PERSAL details have been incorrectly captured, these will be corrected accordingly.
The BMATT and the BMA remains committed to addressing all queries regarding this transition process. It was therefore agreed that:
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There will be no interference to the salaries of transferred employees. All staff will receive their salaries as normal.
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Employers will issue all affected employees with a letter clarifying their transfer to BMA rather than resignation from their relevant departments in the public service, as per S197 of the Labour Relations Act 66 0f 1995 as amended.
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Human Resources units within the respective regions and ports will engage with staff members on a one-on-one basis to identify issues of concern regarding the transfer and resolve them accordingly.
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In the case of unresolved issues, such will be reported to the PSCBC and members of the BMATT will intervene and resolve the matters.
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BMA leadership will continue to distribute uniforms to all staff members in the various ports across the country.
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These processes will be completed within the period 10-21 April 2023
The BMATT views this matter as high priority and will continue to monitor the implementation of the process and ensure the smooth transition of all employees. We would like to thank the employees for their patience, participation and understanding during this period.